Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini: I could drop dodgy Joe Hart

For me he is the first choice but if he does not play well, I can change

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini

The keeper came under fire for his performance in England’s 4-2 defeat to Sweden in Stockholm on Wednesday.

Hart was at fault for at least two of the goals – prompting former Manchester United skipper Roy Keane to brand him “cocky”.

Hart’s club form has also come under scrutiny and Mancini says he will have no problem axing the stopper if the need arises. The Italian added: “For me he is the first choice. But if he is not playing well, I can change. I don’t have any problem doing this.

“Joe is no different from Mario (Balotelli) or the other players. He is young and he needs to work very hard because only like this can you keep high your performance.”

Hart will start City’s game at home to struggling Aston Villa.

Mancini is confident his errors against Sweden are behind him, with the City boss insisting Hart remains one of the best keepers in the Premier League.

He said: “If Joe does not play well for five or six games, probably I can change the keeper. This is normal for me, for every manager. But I trust totally in Joe.

“I’m sure that sometimes he can make a mistake but this is the life of a keeper.

“For me he is the first choice but if he does not play well, I can change.”

Mancini refused to say whether Balotelli, who has yet to score a Premier League goal this season, would return after being left out of the 16 to face Spurs last week.

Balotelli was forced to watch the game from the stand – with Mancini claiming the Italian striker had not done enough in training to earn a place on the bench.

He added: “Mario didn’t play last week because it was my choice.

“I have 20 players and if there are some players that don’t work well, they don’t deserve to play. There were other players that worked better than Mario and they deserved to go on the bench.”